The Motivations of the Uchiha
by dracoflame67
Summary: Why did Sasuke's and Itachi's parents decide to rebel against Konoha, when every time they're seen, they are depicted as loving, if flawed, parents? This fic provides some answers. Recounts events from Konoha's backstory in Fugaku's, Mikoto's, and Itachi's perspectives.
1. Intro: How did it come to this?

Introduction: How did it come to this?

Itachi was perched atop a cable tower, looking down at his house. His legs had begun to shake in anticipation of what was to follow; namely, he was about to murder his parents. _No. I've already decided on this, _Itachi thought as he steeled himself, the small inkling of doubt fading in his mind.

Itachi's parents, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, had announced that they were planning a coup-d'etat on Konoha, the village that was their home. The consequences of this rebellion were clear in Itachi's eyes; Konoha's current stability would be shaken by the coup-d'etat, breaking down into a gruesome civil war. Furthermore, Konoha's weakness would reflect on the rest of the Fire Country, and other villages would take the opportunity to steal from the country and become more powerful themselves. Next, this would devolve into the other villages, nay, countries, fighting each other for the Fire Country's resources. Effectively, the Uchiha clan attempting a coup-d'etat would lead to a Fourth Shinobi World War. To prevent this war from happening, Itachi decided to nip the problem in the bud before it could bear the fruits of disaster; off the clan before the clan can off anyone else.

Without another moment's hesitation, Itachi leapt from the tower onto the roof of his house, and crept into the chimney. There was no fire at the bottom, as Fugaku and Mikoto had already gone to bed this late at night. Itachi's little brother, Sasuke, was also not present; Itachi had knocked him unconscious after he left from the Ninja Academy, his face concealed by his Anbu mask, so that Sasuke would not interfere with the night's grim events.

Itachi took a bundle of rope and, silently and carefully, tied his parents to the floor, their arms behind their backs, and their legs fastened together, bent at the knees. It looked like they were kneeling. Itachi wanted to get this dirty business over with as soon as possible, and with his parents tied up, they could not fight him or run away. Once he had secured the rope and got behind his parents, Itachi gave each of them a sound punch to the head; his mother hit with his left hand, his father hit with his right.

Both parents woke up, instinctively looking behind them, Fugaku with his Sharingan active. Fugaku's gaze was met with Itachi's own Sharingan looking down on him. Mikoto then looked down to see herself and her husband tied to the floor. She tried to loosen the rope that bound her, but it was too tight. Both parents realized what was going on immediately afterward. Fugaku deactivated his Sharingan and Mikoto relaxed, taking a deep breath.

"So you've chosen _their_ side, then." Mikoto said, not as a question, but as a matter of fact.

"Yes. I love my home too much to see it destroyed." Her son replied, drawing his tanto.

"I'm disappointed, Itachi." Fugaku exclaimed. "You could have killed us while we were tied up, but you chose to wake us instead. I'm sure it would have been easier for you to kill us in our sleep."

"Before I kill you I need answers." Itachi replied.

"Then ask away." Mikoto responded.

"I need to know. Why did you decide on the coup-d'etat? Surely you're aware of what risks accompany that decision. And also, you're both my parents. You loved Sasuke and me, and you had worked so hard to strengthen the ties between the village and the clan. It just doesn't make any sense to me, that good people like you could throw it all away with this bloody rebellion. So please hear your son out one last time. How did it come to this?" Itachi asked, holding back his tears.

Fugaku answered; "So you wish to see the story from our side? Very well, but you've been warned. Only sadness awaits your ears."


	2. Chapter 1: 3rd Shinobi War: Beginning

(Author's Note: This chapter is told from Fugaku's perspective.)

Chapter 1: The Third Shinobi World War: Beginning

'I suppose the long road to our decision began with the Third Shinobi World War, when the conflict was just starting. Iwagakure, the Hidden Rock Village, was threatening to invade our village of Konoha, in order to expand its military might, and to restore its dwindling economy. Iwa caught Konoha at a very inopportune time; the Legendary Three Ninja, the Sannin, had just gone their separate ways. Lady Tsunade had left the village in order to cope with the loss of her loved ones. Lord Jiraiya had become Konoha's spymaster, spending most of his time outside the village gathering information on other countries. The only member who remained within Konoha was Orochimaru, and he affiliated himself with Danzo's Root division, so the Third Hokage was not directly commanding him.

With Konoha's then-greatest heroes split up, another group had to battle Iwa's forces on the front lines. It should be of no surprise to you that it was our Uchiha Clan that was selected to fend off Iwa. The Third had the utmost faith in our abilities as a battle-oriented clan, and commanded us to stave off Iwa's invasion before they could reach Konoha's borders. With the pride of the Uchiha, and Konoha's survival, at stake, your mother and I led our clan into battle within Kusagakure, the Grass Village. We hoped, with our superior battle prowess and Sharingan, that we would ensure a swift victory.

We were wrong.

Without the constant battle that surrounded the great Madara's time, we Uchiha had become weaker as a whole. While we were still a powerful clan, yes, we were not as powerful as we used to be. Furthermore, our enemies were more powerful than we expected. We were vastly outnumbered, and as Iwa's current Tsuchikage had been defeated by Madara during the time the Great Villages were being formed, Iwa's forces were fuelled by anger and revenge against the Uchiha.

Between Iwa's desire for revenge, and our own weakness, Iwa had slowly, but surely, decimated our forces. Our clan's numbers had been reduced to just over half they used to be, with minimal casualties to Iwa. Thankfully, before it was too late for us, reinforcements from Konoha arrived, and with their new Kazekage, Sunagakure entered the battle as well. With Suna challenging Iwa across the Land of Stone, Iwa's forces were divided, and with Konoha's cavalry, the Uchiha were saved.

Not everyone saw it that way, though.

Most of the Uchiha Clan saw Suna and the rest of Konoha saving us as an insult to their pride, and insisted to continue fighting despite being ordered by the Third Hokage himself to retreat. I understood the need for a retreat, yet at the same time my pride too, was hurt by our loss. So I decided on a third option; the clan would retreat temporarily, and could continue fighting if they joined a multi-clan squad. Everyone, reluctantly or not, agreed, and the Uchiha clan returned home. This happened to be the time when your mother and I had you, Itachi, in case you were wondering.

When we returned to Konoha, Koharu and Homura held a meeting with me, as they saw the Uchiha Clan's defeat as a disappointment, and an insult to Konoha. They wanted to punish me with mental torture and multiple zaps of lightning chakra, as I was responsible for the Clan's performance. Oddly enough, however, Danzo had come to my defence in this meeting, when he said:

"Do not punish General Fugaku, you two. His platoon did exceedingly well. Thanks to them, we know all of Iwa's techniques. And besides, I am no doubt certain this loss is already painful enough for him. At any rate, the future of this war is going to be bright for us. I am sure of it."

At the time I thought nothing of it, and thanked Danzo for his kindness as Koharu and Homura let me off unpunished. But looking back on it, Danzo was being too nice for it to be normal for him. But over the years I eventually realized the truth behind Danzo's words; the Uchiha Clan was a sacrifice. Danzo, and the rest of Konoha, let our clan suffer in order to learn more information on Iwa.'


End file.
